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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Hour of code at MSMS!

Computer Science Education week was December 8-14 and we are proud that so many Burlington Public School learners had the opportunity to participate. Helpdeskers came into December excited about coding even though many of them had not had any experience doing this. (that they were aware of anyway!)

Flocabulary is an online library of educational hip-hop songs and videos for grades K-12. Over 20,000 schools use Flocabulary to engage and inspire students.We began with a rap song from Flocabulary about coding. Flocabulary is a great resource that teachers and students can use to broaden their understanding with engaging lessons embedded in modern day culture. There is a free trial period and then individual, school and district subscriptions.

During 3 activity block periods, helpdesk students were given the following assignment and 40 minutes to explore 2 out of the 3 suggested activities. They were really engaged. We accessed these activities using a multitude of devices to see if that would decrease or increase difficulty. The could choose from either a Samsung Chromebook, ipad or HP Touchsmart PC.

The best part was watching our normally very chatty group settle in and get coding. The Anna and Elsa game from code.org was a big draw. The connection to video games on Tynker drew in several of our students. there were students who got frustrated immediately and then some who just concentrated and quickly embraced the command that they needed in order to get something to move in the direction they were commanding it to go. Overall a successful event and we hope to have inspired some future coders/programmers in the world! Stay tuned for pics.....